Forest Wolf
by Eldrazi Cat
Summary: When a demon lord casts an apparently magical human into Equestria, he has to struggle to survive. Not that he's still human, of course. (Rated T for the inclusion of gore, spiders, and swearing)
1. I'm Fairly Certain This is Impossible

**Disclaimer: I hereby state that I in no way own "My Little Pony", and I attest that the corporation Hasbro is the owner of the stated franchise. I own naught but my own work.**

"Forest Wolf" Chapter I

"I'm Fairly Certain That This is Impossible"

The moon was high in the cloudy night sky, shining its reflected light onto the dimly-lit forest below. The environment was warm, and dark, and humid; water had collected in ditches and atop leaves, running slowly down towards the damp soil. It is at the muddy floor of this environment that we find our unfortunate protagonist, a young man named Michael. Having turned 19 a mere month prior, he walks through the forest with a flashlight in his hand and a pack strapped to his spindly back. While the wisdom of being out so late, and in an environment such as this to boot, was questionable at best, there was a reason for his presence: spiders. Right now was an excellent time to locate both web-spinning and hunting spiders, because the droplets of water on webs would be easily spotted, and due to the nocturnal nature of many hunting spiders. In fact, Michael thought, he was in luck. Barely six feet away, his light's beam had come across a fantastic example of a wolf spider - certainly of the _Hogna_ genus given its size, he thought. Standing on an open patch of dirt, the sizable arachnid appeared to have a legspan of about four inches, and was primarily shaded in dark browns. Noticing the light, she - based on the abdomen's bulk and sheer size - turned to face Michael, and her eyes almost appeared to glow. He retrieved a plastic container with a hole-filled, matching lid and turned back to the hunter. "I can't wait to show you to my friends tomorrow. They don't even think a spider can get to a size like yours, but here you are to prove them wrong." As he bent down, however, he noticed that the moon had vanished beneath a thick quilt of clouds, throughout which flashed ominous purple lightning. That alone would tell anyone that something distinctly unnatural was happening, but that was when the demon appeared. Chuckling evilly from his skull-decorated obsidian throne - that had arrived at the same time as he - the demon spoke.

" **Ahahahah, so you are the creature I sensed! I certainly expected more than… this for a being of your power, however. You must truly be a well-trained and powerful mage to hide your signature this well, ahahahahahahah! But no mage, no matter their skill at deception, can escape from me, the demon lord Rak'thar'lop! Ahahahahah!"** Michael began to notice more features on the "demon lord" as it spoke, like its skin, so close to being black but for the violet tint. Like the horns that curved sharply down to either side of the monster's maw, which was lipless and filled with ragged, black-stained fangs. Like the eyes scattered across its skinless body, all slitted and darkly violet. Like the sickly, necrotic energy blast gathered in the palm of its right arm, which faced him. " **Now, before you cease to be a threat to my existence, I will grant you a choice: if you could go to any fictional universe, which one would you choose?"** The spider had come closer and begun investigating Michael's foot, he noticed as he thought over the demon's bizarre question. He thought of one, finally, that he did not believe would see him to a quick death.

"I would like to go to the universe of 'My Little Pony', Rak'thar'lop." The demon laughed.

" **Ah, you believe that you will be safe in such a world. Let me put your thoughts to rest; would I give you a choice if you would actually be safe in any of your options? I promise you, your choice will be as lethal as any other. But enough of this speaking, for it is time that you depart this land! Ahahahahah!"** And it threw the shadowy sphere, reaching Michael in an instant. The last thing his eyes observed was a blindingly bright black void…

Michael's brain finally rebooted, and he began to observe the world around him, only to be greatly confused. _How can I see all of this? The sky is clearly above me, but it's right above all these trees and bushes. And why can't I get up?_ He tried to stand, and he felt two legs respond, but they refused to allow him to get off the damp forest floor. Then, he realized something: he could feel more than just his arms and legs. In fact, he could feel several more limbs than a human could possibly have. Something in his brain told him to _lift_ , and he felt four pairs of limbs stretch and respond. Three pairs were in his field of vision, one set of which was is the much better-defined area of his sight that he assumed was forwards. He jolted in surprise, though, when he saw that his limbs were armored and colored muddy brown, with black hairs projecting off them seemingly at random - sensory hairs. _I'm a gorram wolf spider! But… large!_ Coming to grips with his nature, Michael began listening to the newly-added instincts in his mind, instructing him on movement. Finally, he noticed, he was hungry. He began to move forwards, but bolted so quickly that he was amongst the trees. _Either these trees are tiny, or I'm pretty darn huge._ Michael took careful steps after that, moving slowly and deliberately, though each movement carried him a notable distance. He knew that he was in some part of the My Little Pony world, at some time in the world… which meant that he could be anywhere warm and dark and humid. _Let's see… Not griffon or dragon territory, those wouldn't support forests like this one. So, I'm probably at least in Equestria somewhere… this isn't the Everfree, is it? Depending on my size, I'm probably not an apex predator if that's the case._ Michael's fears were confirmed, unfortunately, by the sight of a familiar stony ruin, one that he knew quite well from the pilot of My Little Pony. _That's the Castle of the Two Sisters. I am in the Everfree, at some point after Luna's banishment! It's probably a safe hiding spot, though. I should go there._ He set off towards it, and then he wondered how he would reach it. _Wolf spiders are not good at climbing, and that fall would kill me. Is it possible to get over there?_ He circled the castle slowly, before he had a stupid idea. _I can run absurdly fast, can't I? So why don't I just jump over there? Ahh, this could end badly, but I'm going to try it._ Michael backed off to a respectable distance before streaking forwards, reaching brilliant speeds as the cliff edge neared. His hind legs straightened as the pressure inside each increased drastically, propelling Michael's huge body across the abyss and into the stone wall of his new home, creating a large spider-shaped dent as he landed. _Good to know cartoon physics will apply to some degree, but I know for certain that this world is going to be hostile to my fairly squishy self._ Michael's legs found purchase on the rough, vine-coated walls and pulled his body out of the crater, still managing to hang on to the stone despite his body's bulk. _Right, magic. That throws my expectations right out the window, but it isn't a stretch to realize that it would have_ some _bearing on my capabilities given the setting I placed myself into. Also, that demon put me in this situation because of magic in the first place. I wonder what else I might be able to do?_ Michael took some slow steps along the wall, careful to prevent himself from reaching dangerous speeds. Within a minute, he had arrived at a shattered portion of wall that would allow him access to the castle's interior. His front legs reached and bent to make contact with the inside of the wall before the rest of him followed suit. He took in the dark room, coated in webs and surprisingly well-preserved wood furnishings, and promptly grasped bits and pieces of rubble and wood for his own purposes - since he presumably can't burrow in solid stone, a home needed to be constructed by other means. Spinnerets on his narrow abdomen provided the silk needed for adhesive, and in some cases walls.. Once the ragged structure was complete, set as it was against a corner of the chamber to conserve materials, Michael settled in to rest and wait. After all, something edible would come by eventually… wouldn't it?

Michael's environment snapped into sudden focus as he processed his surroundings: dark, mossy stone, supported on two sides with wood and silk weave, and a hole directly in front of him. He was in his burrow, he recalled, waiting for food to pass by for an interminable time, but he hungered more than ever - it was time to employ more aggressive methods of locating something to eat. Soon, he discovered just what it was that disturbed him, however: outside his burrow was what appeared for all the world to be a cube of sickly green Jell-O he believed was quite larger than his abdomen. The minor detail of some random bones floating inside didn't escape him either. _That is very bad. That means that monsters from Dungeons and Dragons could be appearing in this world, in which case I am totally fucked. Or, maybe it's just a coincidence, but I can't hope for that in this world. I don't think I have a hope of defeating it, but I'm so hungry that I don't think I have a choice!_ The gelatinous cube was oozing ominously closer to his burrow, so Michael had to act quickly. As it approached, he leaped at its surface and bit into it with his sturdy fangs, immediately noticing that it was attempting to envelope him. He pulled away with some portion of the thing, then threw himself away and at the door. Once on the ground, Michael skittered down the hall and out of reach of that particular nightmare. _At least the blob I sucked out isn't killing me yet. I need to find somewhere where monsters on the ground have no hope of reaching me, while still offering prey for an opportunistic spider like me._ Michael spent hours scuttling around the degraded castle, searching for his new home, when at last he stepped into a large hall, or perhaps a foyer based on the presence of large, open wooden doors at one end. Through them, Michael could see the Everfree Forest in all its dark terror. _Not that in here is better, though._ He set about making his home about two-thirds of the way up the wall, utilizing a particularly large crevice facing the front door as a base and expanding it with a crude sheet of webbing. The sheet also held together pieces of wood and stone to disguise itself to creatures that might desire a tasty wolf spider for dinner, or not wish to become a wolf spider's dinner. Once again, he settled in to wait…

Weeks had passed without anything passing through the foyer - now that Michael could measure time, he knew it had been more than six weeks - but right now, his attention was focused on something that would certainly sustain him. Across the rubble-strewn floor strode a brown, bipedal figure with strongly canine features, a being he knew to be a Diamond Dog. Sentient, certainly, but he wasn't certain that he cared too strongly about that at this point in time. The Dog was clearly focused on the floor, turning over rubble in an attempt to find valuables. _You would think that they'd have been through here by now. Maybe this one is a loner?_ Michael's thoughts were suddenly silenced by more voices, though he couldn't understand the language. More Diamond Dogs entered the foyer, some equipped with archaic pickaxes and weapons. Michael's rage was stirred, however, by the presence of ponies in chains leading to the paws of some of the Diamond Dogs also searching the foyer. _Conveniently, that removes any guilt I might feel for killing and eating them. Of course I don't know if I can kill that many, but they'll probably run in fear if I look scary enough and maybe kill one or two._ Michael waited until the leading Dogs had reached his end of the foyer before taking action. During this waiting period, he had observed the Dogs handling their pony slaves strike them at least thrice each when they stopped working, which only served to anger him more. Soundlessly, he propelled himself out of his elevated home and onto the grizzled brown Diamond Dog beneath him. As his front legs pinned it down, he got a sense of his size compared to ponies and Diamond Dogs. _Wow, I'm big. My body's probably equivalent to two or three ponies, and my legs are as thick as theirs but far longer._ As the one he was pinning called frantically for help, Michael lifted his head before striking down with the huge fangs gracing his face. His numerous eyes registered the huge piercing wounds they made in its chest, wider than any spear thrust, as he pulled his crimson-coated parts out. This action further tore open the Dog's chest as it gurgled and choked while blood spouted from the great gashes. The rest of the Dogs began to flee, except the two with pony slaves. Michael assumed that they were unwilling to leave their rare prizes behind rather than actual bravery, but they were the best-equipped of the pack; both possessed cracked and rusty iron armor that covered most of their bodies, and their weapons had gemstones embedded in them. They had stuck the chains beneath a heavy rock so that they would be unhindered as they fought, and one of them sneered something unintelligible at the rest of the pack as they readied their weapons. As one, they shouted what he assumed were battle cries before slowly circling him. _I don't think they've encountered a creature with a spider's field of vision before._ They struck in a coordinated fashion at his sides, each aiming for a leg. As they moved, Michael did as well; at the sneering, coal-colored one to his left, he struck with two of his legs, throwing it backwards several feet. To the bulky, scarred grey Dog on his other side, he turned and bit down, his fangs denting its chest armor. That, fortunately, convinced the two that their lives were worth more than their slaves and they ran back to their pack before fleeing as a group. Michael regarded the two ponies with his shiny black eyes; they had no way of knowing that he was sapient, that he did not intend to consume them. If he approached, they would undoubtedly fear for their lives. _How can I release them without incurring a fearful response?_ Michael lowered his body to the ground and took a tentative step towards the ponies, who immediately cringed back. When they moved, he promptly stepped back and laid down as best a spider can, with legs arranged in groups of two. For hours the three stayed in their positions, and then Michael tried to take another step forwards. The ponies had been conversing over this time, and Michael had studied their appearance: the first was magenta with a shaggy sunflower mane, while the other had a cream coat and tan mane. Both were disheveled and coated in dirt. _Maybe I could bring them water? That would indicate that I'm at least intelligent._ Following this idea, Michael set off into the ruin's depths in order to search for a supply of water and something to carry it with, though he was unsure as to how he would be able to transport it given his lack of hands. _Paws aren't exactly meant to carry things either, but they managed somehow. Maybe I can too._ He suddenly stopped as the sounds of clanking and hollow rattling reached him, coming steadily closer. Within a minute, Michael's path was blocked by several animated pony skeletons coated in ancient, bloodstained bronze armor and in some cases wielding long spears. The horde continued advancing down the compact hallway, providing Michael with no option for escape. _Skeletons probably aren't going to be intimidated, either - they're undead._ Michael slowly crept backwards at the same rate the skeletons approached, noting as he moved that there were ten of them. Each one appeared to be missing parts, whether it was a leg, a jawbone, or a section of skull, and they glowed with eldritch dark blue magic - presumably what was animating the bones. As Michael's back legs touched a stone wall and the bones kept advancing, he noticed that the hallway led off to either side of him and immediately darted down the corridor. The bones continued shambling, but they would never catch him now. As he went farther into the ruined castle, he encountered more ancient skeletons and discovered that they were easy enough to kill when alone or in pairs, but he ran the risk of getting surrounded when they became numerous. Running down a rough staircase, Michael encountered something odd: a locked, pristine golden chest sitting on a small plinth. _What could it hold? This place is starting to resemble the Dungeon from Terraria. What's next, slimes?_ And as if summoned by his thoughts, Michael heard something jump and hit the floor with a small *splat*, and a large dark purple blob rounded the corner - a golden key was dimly visible at the center of the slime. _Is this a joke?_ Prank or not, he decided to kill it. To this end, Michael stopped all movement and waited for the slime to get closer, as it slowly did. Once it was within reach of his front legs, Michael launched himself forward, body-slamming the slime and biting repeatedly with his fangs. His legs instinctively grappled the slime, though they were ineffective against the amorphous dungeon slime. After twenty seconds of sustained attacks, however, the slime collapsed into a pile of harmless goo and a shiny golden key; Michael quickly consumed its remains, then tried to pick up the key with one of his limbs. To his happy discovery, he found that it stuck to the end of his leg! Carrying it to the chest, he turned the lock and lifted himself up to look inside. _Let's see: gold coins, a giant blue flail, and some random potions. Yep, this is definitely the Dungeon._ Using his legs, Michael hefted the contents of the chest onto his abdomen and continued exploring. As he went further, he noticed that the ruins led rather deep into the surface, and skeletons were becoming more numerous as the temperature decreased. Most importantly, however, he had located a partially flooded hallway. His second pair of legs held two reasonably helmets that he intended to use as buckets, and he dipped them into the pool without incident. _Now, how do I get out of here? Gah, I should have left a trail of some kind!_ Nevertheless, Michael began finding his way back, travelling upwards whenever possible and, after hours of searching, he arrived back as a new day dawned, pouring early morning light in through the doors. Michael scuttled into the foyer with his load, moving slowly to his waiting spot. He then settled in and waited for the ponies to awake…

 **A/N: How will Michael's guests react when they discover that he is intelligent? Will I ever expand on the whole magic demon business? And will I stop with the ellipses already? More seriously, I think I might be rushing the story a little. Please post your opinions; I cannot improve without your input!**


	2. It Can Speak?

**Disclaimer: I hereby state that I in no way own "My Little Pony", and I attest that the corporation Hasbro is the owner of the stated franchise. I own naught but my own work.**

"Forest Wolf" Chapter II

"It Can Speak!?"

As the new day crept inexorably across the floor and towards the sleeping ponies, they began to yawn and stretch. Both of them swept their heads across their surroundings before spotting Michael's monstrous body, now festooned with loot and bearing two helmets filled with water. Now that they were awake, he decided to slowly approach. _It doesn't matter how terrifying I might be, I can't help them if I back off like this._ Despite their fearful looks, Michael continued to approach to within what he guessed was a few feet before placing a bloodstained, water-filled helmet before each of them. As one, they recoiled in horror and conversed incomprehensibly for some time. After they stopped speaking, they turned and nodded to him before picking up the helmets and drinking from them. _Now that I think they know I'm not mindless, how do I free them?_ Even as he thought, Michael wondered if he could simply break their chains. First, however, he made a short movement forward, aiming at the boulder pinning their chains; it brought him directly in front of the stone. Then, Michael placed his front four legs against it and _shoved_ with as much force as he could muster, which was apparently far too much - the boulder cracked where his legs impacted it and flew into the air before crumbling into small fragments against the far wall. _Wow, I'm stronger than I expected. I wish I could communicate with them._ The ponies were definitely startled by his display, but Michael was fairly certain that they knew it was to help them, as they began inspecting their chains before motioning to a set of damaged links he could break. _I might be able to break pristine ones, too, but I want to free them first._ Michael lifted a leg and brought it down like a sledgehammer on the links, which for their part flew apart as if they were no stronger than paper. The force of his strike was actually enough to damage some of the links around the now-shattered ones, leave a small crater in the stone floor, and crack his exoskeleton. He could see that a number of hairline fractures ran partway up that leg - he would have to take care with the amount of force he used. Now that their chains were useless, the ponies could go home. For some reason Michael didn't know, however, they stayed where they were and began speaking to him. _Haven't they figured out that I don't speak their language?_ While they tried in vain to communicate, he took in more details: the magenta pony was clearly a pegasus given her two long, feathery wings, while the tan one possessed a spearlike horn. _Reminds me a bit of Terraria's unicorns, those murderous bastards. It doesn't help that her eyes are red, either._ Finally, the unicorn shook her head and turned away, gesturing for her partner to follow as she walked towards the exit. But before they could leave, something distinctly unnatural occurred; when before it was early morning, they were shrouded in darkness as if it were midnight, and a hideous roar was heard as a blood-leaking eyeball of monstrous proportions phased through the wall! _Oh, holy shitballs, no._

 _ **Eye of Cthulhu has awoken!**_

 _Why now? Why is it suddenly midnight? Why is this fucking eyeball here? I need to protect those two!_ Michael skittered to interpose himself between the Eye and the ponies, raising his front four legs in a spider's typical threat display. Of course, the Eye was not to be intimidated by a spider significantly smaller than itself and belted out a roar that shook the debris on the floor before charging Michael. For his part, he let out a horrid, ear-hurting shriek and leapt at the oversized eyeball with as much force as he could muster. As they met in midair, Michael's front legs grappled with the Eye's soft structure to find purchase and damage it while his characteristically large fangs sunk into it just above the iris, forcing massive amounts of venom into the optic gel as they tore in. Once all of his legs had jabbed into it, Michael pulled his fangs free and brought them down again, this time glowing faintly with a sickly green aura. Again and again he struck, the poisonous glow around his fangs increasing as he fought. _You will not hurt these two! I will tear you apart before you have any hope of it!_ "You are going to DIE!" _Was that my voice? It sounds high-pitched and screechy. At least I can speak, though I still don't understand those ponies._ At least these two weren't as useless as the show would have one believe; the pegasus was flying around picking up and throwing rocks while the unicorn hurled bolts of magic at the Eye, which at least distracted it from the giant spider digging into it. "Hey, that's a good idea, if only the Eye would stop moving for a few seconds." However, the Eye was flying around the foyer like a hyperactive bouncy ball trying to remove him as he kept venomously biting it. _Why haven't I run out of venom yet? How much have I put into this bastard, anyway?_ Taking away some of his stability, Michael lifted one of his second-pair legs out of its dripping home and struck down with it again, stabbing several feet down into the Eye… right before it began spinning, hurling Michael off of it and into a nearby wall. "Ouch. It's going into Phase Two." The Eye could hardly be called such now, as its optical parts had been replaced with a great bleeding maw filled with swordlike jaundiced fangs, irregular and far larger than Michael's. The Eye roared again, and its gore-coated teeth clashed together as it snarled and swooped at Michael with all the anger a monster of the night could manage. Unfortunately for the Eye, it found itself on a sudden collision course with the floor after Michael darted to another part of the floor. Its projecting front canines dug long furrows through the stone bricks as it pulled up, only to be faced with a leaping, predatory lycosid of unprecedented size and sapience. "Fuck you!" The Eye was promptly slammed against the wall behind it that a second ago was twenty feet away as Michael impacted it fiercely. He raised his magically-powered fangs and screeched into the maw of the Eye, and for the first time, it felt _fear_. It was afraid of this brutal terror, and it decided that if _it_ wanted those two ponies, it could have them! However, the several pounds of venom it had received over the course of the fight were having a significant effect on its body - it could no longer struggle against the spider's immense strength. The Eye was doomed to death in this hall, death at the fangs of a random, albeit powerful spider. It was a small matter, of course; its brethren would avenge the Eye and tear this monster apart until it was nothing more than a green stain slowly being absorbed by the forest floor. And then the Eye knew more, as huge, bleeding chunks of it flew in every direction and Michael tumbled to the hard grey floor, inches away from a wayward tooth sticking out of the crevice it had been lodged in. Michael also noticed in the corner of his vision a rainbow-colored, flat rectangle obscuring a small section of his view. It read, " **You have defeated one of this world's great menaces, the Eye of Cthulhu. As a reward, you have been gifted with an Babelian Organ that will allow you to understand and communicate using all civilized languages you encounter.** " _I wonder how loot works here. Is it scattered around or is there a bag containing all of it? Do the mechanics of Terraria apply here?_ Michael noticed with no small amount of relief that various chunks of dull violet ore were scattered around, slathered in eyeball goop and blood like most of the floor around where the Eye had died, but there was also a pulsing aquamarine spiral levitating slightly above it all. Michael approached it curiously, and without warning it flew at him and vanished. Another magic rainbow plot device text box appeared to his top left: " **I see that one of my servants has been defeated by a being with the ability to acquire Lore. Well then, adventurer or lucky soldier, whatever you may be, I** _ **encourage**_ **you to find a different life, a safer life, lest** _ **all you hold dear is obliterated and you are left in the middle of the lifeless wasteland you used to call 'home'**_ **. If you continue, I will know and respond… more personally.** " Michael pondered for a moment, considering what he now knew. _Shit, I'm a hero now. Is the antagonist the Moon Lord or something different? Can I make items, or even use them, and what about armor? How does this work? Perhaps more importantly, however, I can communicate with these two._ "These two", since he didn't know their names, were occupied with cleaning themselves off and inspecting the demonite at their hooves. Michael skittered forward and raised a single front leg,

"Hello?"

" _AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

 **A/N: So, this is a Terraria crossover now. I didn't intend to make it so, but I know more about Terraria than My Little Pony, even as I work to refresh myself. To the story, then: what would you all suggest to improve the fight scene? The next chapter will focus more on developing relationships with ponies, now that Michael can speak, and whether he will be able to craft items is very much up in the air right now. Please place a review, especially if you have criticism or questions.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Texan Atheist, thank you for your support!**


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